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Wall murals provide an attractive design choice for both interior and exterior environments. “Entrepreneur” magazine notes that some building owners contract for exterior wall murals to discourage graffiti, while others commission the murals to discreetly promote a business or the town itself. Mural painters also team up with architects or interior designers, who know when a restaurant is revamping its design or a hospital is sprucing up its children’s floor décor. Artists often create a tourism destination by painting multiple wall murals in arts-focused towns.

1.

Document your mural painting business. Design a business structure with a certified public accountant familiar with art businesses. Select from a sole proprietorship, limited liability company and Subchapter S corporation. Consult with a commercial insurance agent about liability coverage. Obtain a business license from your city or county clerk’s office, and inquire about needed local permits. Contact your state department of revenue about the need for a sales tax license.

2.

Lease a small business office. Find an office easily accessed from main roads, and preferably near commercial businesses that represent potential clients. Ensure that the office features high-speed Internet to facilitate communication on mural proposals and designs. Work with a sign maker to create tasteful building signage that identifies your business. Utilize a different location, such as a storage unit approved for commercial use, to store your painting equipment and supplies.

3.

Compile a mural business marketing package. Develop descriptions and prices for mural projects of varied sizes and degrees of difficulty. Consider a separate marketing sheet for interior projects, such as pediatrician office walls and day care center playrooms. Limit your offerings to murals you can confidently execute well.

Contract with regional building owners. Ride through cities and towns throughout your region, and observe each town’s general character. Note buildings with solid, well-constructed exterior walls that lend themselves to mural displays. Visit those building owners with a “win win” proposal. Provide design sketches that capture each building's essence, and offer discounted mural prices that help you augment your portfolio. This arrangement provides the building owners with attractive façades at appealing prices.

6.

Order your paint and painting supplies. Visit a well-stocked local paint store, and explain your mural project to a staffer familiar with large exterior painting projects. Ask for a recommendation on durable exterior paints that hold their color over time, and ask about necessary surface preparation work as well. Add brushes, rollers and other painting supplies to your order. Request a discount on your substantial purchase.

7.

Launch your first mural project. Gather your artists and prepare your first mural wall. Work with experienced mural artists to lay out the wall design and apply the first background colors. Apply additional colors and design elements as needed. Document each phase of the mural for marketing and educational purposes. Invite a local newspaper to photograph the event and spotlight your mural business.

Things Needed

List of artists from regional galleries and co-ops

List of freelance mural artists

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About the Author

Based in North Carolina, Felicia Greene has written professionally since 1986. Greene edited sailing-related newsletters and designed marketing programs for the New Bern, N.C. "Sun Journal" and New Bern Habitat ReStore. She earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Baltimore.